


Sweet Brother of Mine

by ry0kiku



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Canonical Character Death, Child Abuse, Court of Owls, Creepy Parents, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Eventual DickTim, M/M, More like unreliable writer though, Tim Drake is an Owl, Unreliable narrator for chapter one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6810691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ry0kiku/pseuds/ry0kiku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Timothy Drake once made a silent wish for an older brother. And many months later, his parents unwittingly delivered. Or to be exact, the Court delivered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Brother of Mine

**Author's Note:**

> Batman and all its characters belongs to DC comics. I own and gain nothing except personal fulfillment and practice in English writing.

.

At two years of age, Timothy Drake made a wish for his parents to spare enough time to at least kiss him goodnight. He stopped asking at two and a half, after they bid him goodbye for three-month long business trip that extended into half a year. He made another, hopefully more reasonable wish; for someone, _anyone_ , who will stay by his side and truly keep him company. Preferably an older brother, like in that bear movie.

At three, he had gotten tired of his capacious playroom and neglectful sitter, opting to roam the more ‘grown up’ side of the house, starting from the library. At three and a half, he had left not a single nook and cranny of the mansion unexplored, including a secret compartment under the mahogany work desk in his parents’ barely-touched study.

A compartment locked with a puzzle he had rather enthusiastically spent a full week on before finally getting it to open, revealing three masks inside. Three pearly white, plain masks adorned only with eye holes and beak-like shape in front. _Birds?_ Tim had wondered while picking the smallest one and put it on his face. It sagged forward, clearly too big for him, and he returned it to the compartment, losing interest.

That very night, his parents returned unannounced when he was having a late dinner. Tim just stared blankly, thinking it was all a dream until they went straight to him and scooped him up. His mother kissed his cheeks, while his father was almost swelling with pride.

“We’re planning to tell you two or three years from now, but you certainly beat us to that, Timmy. For you to crack the code at this age… they will have to accept you no matter what. Hell, you could’ve been a Grandmaster in the future! A Grandmaster of the Court of Owls, from our family!”

Tim was bewildered. His parents never came home prematurely, and on top of it never quite this affectionate. What had caused this difference?

The masks. That must be it. They got his parents to him. His parents hugging and kissing him, showering him with love and praise. His parents, for the very first time since he could remember, tucking him to bed and lulling him to sleep.

 

“ _Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,_

_Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime,_

_They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed._

_Speak not a whispered word about them, or they’ll send the Talon for your head._ ”

 

The masks—the _owl_ masks, he realized—had granted one of his wishes. And, he couldn’t help but think, it would be really nice if they could grant him his other one.

.

.

It didn’t need to take a genius (even if he is one) to know that tonight was a special one. His parents barely had time to eat dinner together and yet here they were, reserving this weekend for a circus performance. Tim was dressed nicely, taking in everything over his father’s shoulder with interest. This was first time he’s seen _this_ many people (and animals!) gathering in one place while chattering (and sometimes shouting), and it was both nerve-wracking and intriguing. Not even the Court sessions were this… festive.  

“Um, excuse us for interrupting, but this is Tim’s first time at the circus. We’re wondering if you’d let us take a photo with him?”

He turned to see who his mother was talking to; a family of three like his own, only their child was obviously a few years older than him. All of them were dressed brightly in red and green costumes.

“Sure thing, sure!”

Tim felt his father gently put him on the grassy ground, his feet barely touching the grass when he looked up and gave a little squeak at the boy leaning almost face to face to him.

“Dick! Don’t scare him!”

“Didn’t mean to, Dad. Sorry. He’s just so cute I couldn’t resist.” The older boy looked at him apologetically for a second before flashing him a blinding smile. “Tim, right? Make sure you watch me on the trapeze, little one. I will do the quadruple somersault especially for you.”

Tim barely managed a nod before the older boy half-scooted him over one knee and the camera flashed. The boy cackled and pat him on the shoulder, and it was then Tim realized how blue his eyes were. Blue and bright and full of joy. Almost contagious joy.

“See you in the show, Timmy!”

Tim watched the retreating red-and-green and felt the grin he never realized he had dropped. It all happened in a flash. Why did it have to end so fast?

He felt a large hand on his shoulder and an amused chuckle. “Do you like that boy, Tim?”

The gentle pat and the blinding smile replayed on his mind and the four year old nodded, fighting a blush. “Can we go again to see him… I mean, see them, Father?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on seeing them. But we will be seeing _him_ much and more, son.”

He must have frowned, because his father laughed and scooped him up again, this time lowering his voice for him and him only. “Young Richard Grayson. The very best Haly’s circus has to offer. He has both the talent and the pedigree; I heard he is the great-grandson of William Cobb, that legendary Talon.”

“Talon?”

 _Or they will send the Talon for your head_. He did recall it was in the last verse of the nursery rhyme his parents sang to him the night after the discovery of the masks.

“Do you remember the man we saw last month, during the court’s session? A man carrying a lot of knives?”

Tim distinctly recalled a man in black-and-gold armor with assorted blades strapped all over his torso, kneeling in front of the Court. He remembered emotionless yellow eyes and ghostly pale skin with protruding blue veins, and shuddered.

“That scary boogeyman?”

His father had laughed, bringing his free hand up and ruffled his hair affectionately. “Well, son, that ‘boogeyman’ is the Talon. He looks like that to scare our enemies away. He is our protector, our weapon. The latest one is getting old and sloppy, so the Court has been planning to retire him. They have already marked his replacement, and we are here to help acquiring him. It’s the boy we just took photo with.”

Tim looked up at his father, frowning. Tried and failed to draw a connection between a scary boogeyman with barely any expression and a brightly-costumed circus boy with a really pleasant smile. He was halfway opening his mouth to ask when his mother shushed and nudged them towards the tent, where the show was about to get started.

He was still marveling at all the unfamiliar things on the ring when his father leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“This is going to be a bit messy, but I trust you can handle it, son.”

Messy was an understatement; it was a total chaos. He knew there were shocked gasps, terrified scream, sickening crunch, and then everything was a blur of panicked shouts, people standing and running, and his father’s arm. One last thing he did remember though; a glimpse of red-and-green and bright blue glistening with tears before he was ushered out of the tent and to the parking lot.

It was then he noticed that his parents were calm; almost too calm.

.

.

“This may take a while. Bruce Wayne is stubborn, unexpectedly so. I still couldn’t fathom why.”

“Do you think he suspects?”

“Suspects what, exactly?”

“Our plans for the boy. Or worse, our family and… associates.”

“You give him too much credit, Janet. And if anything, _he_ is the suspicious one. Why would a bachelor billionaire with playboy tendencies want to take in an orphaned circus boy? We, on the other hand, are reputable family with officially clean slate. And we were also present when it happened, it will strengthen our case.”

Tim knew that eavesdropping isn’t a good thing, but he swore by his favorite stuffed bird that it wasn’t intended. He had woken up feeling very thirsty, and the nearest water dispenser happened to be right outside the room his parents were having that conversation in. And even if he did hear, he couldn’t really understand anyway, complicated jargons and all.

“For goodness sake, we have only one job: taking in Richard Grayson as our adoptive son as fast as we can after the ‘accident’. We better not screw this up.”

That got him freeze where he stood. Adopt. That he did know. He was going to have a brother. He was going to have _Richard Grayson_ as his brother. Tim went back to his room, feeling rather dizzy but excited. His other wish had just been granted. Was it the masks’ doing again? He couldn’t know.

He was back in his bed before he knew it, eyes closed in contentment. He was still smiling happily when the image of the joyful boy reduced into traumatized, crying mess he saw moments before leaving the tent flashed at the back of his mind, and his previously dancing tummy turned to lead. He opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling; couldn’t help but wondering if life would have been very different for Richard Grayson if he hadn’t made that wish.

.

.

tbc

.

**Author's Note:**

> Before anyone asks; no, the owl masks aren't actually wish-granting genie.  
> And if the premise of Owl!Drakes intrigued you, you should totally check out the fic My Only Sunshine by PTGreat. Their Tim is, I quote, creeptastic! The work greatly inspired me though I ended up trying a different take on Owl!Tim's personality.
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter :)


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